Hillside drilling equipment



D. w. RABY 3,101,795

Aug. 27, 1963 HILLSIDE DRILLING EQUIPMENT Filed Sept. 8, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1. 33

37 H 60L 9 INVENTOR t J I 8 DONALD W RABY 19 By 7%," Mg/L...

ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1963 D. w. RABY 3, 0 95 HILLSIDE DRILLING EQUIPMENT (4 Filed Sept. 8, 1959 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 D ONALD W. RABY BY AGENT Aug. 27, 1963 D. w. RABY HILLSIDE DRILLING EQUIPMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 8, 1959 INVENTOR.

DONALD W. RABY HHlHHll AGENT 19-63 D. w. RABY 3,101,795

HILLSIDE DRILLING EQUIPMENT Filed Sept. 8, 1959 4 Sheegs-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

DONALD W. RABY AGENT United States Patent Filed Sept. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 838,549

6 Claims. (Cl. 173-43).

The invention herein described pertains to mobile drilling rigs, and more particularly to a setup or arrangement for drilling on a hillside.

Hillside drilling has been very diiiicult in the past because of the diificulty of getting the equipment to the site and of setting it up on the slope. My invention solves both of these problems.

One object of my invention is to provide a drilling rig that may easily be towed up a hill or let down the hill by meansrof a cable.

Another of its objects. is the provision of an arrangement whereby the rig may initially be supported by a cable and easily rotated around the coupling where the cable is attached to the rig in order to position the rig for drilling in the exact-spot. w

An additional object is the provision of an assembly that will be substantially balanced around. the cable coupling and thus not offer appreciably greater resistance to rotation in one direction than in another.

Another object is the provision of an assembly that may easily be leveled despite its location on a hillside.

A further object is the provision of a rig having its center of gravity so located that the entire assembly may easily be rotated around the axes of its Wheels in order to bring the derrick to a substantially horizontal position for easy towing.

Still other objects will appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my rig disposed on a hillside.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of my mobile rig with the derrick and platform partly broken away to reveal various other portions of the rig.

FIG. 3 is a right side View of the structure of the preceding figures taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows my rig oriented for conveyance to or from'a drilling site.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail of one of the supporting rollers for the main ring.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the connector for the cable that rotatably suspends my rig on a hillside while it is being maneuvered into the desired drilling position.

My mobile drilling rig may perhaps best be described by first considering how it is transported to the drilling site.

A hitching device 2 is provided on the top or outer end 1 of my derrick 3 so that it may be towed by passenger car, truck, tractor, or other means to the hillside location where the drilling is to take place. When oriented for such towing, the derrick 3 will be in a generally horizontal position as indicated in FIG. 4.

When the drilling site is reached, a supporting or towcable '4 is attached to a swivel connector 5, located substantially midway between the axes of wheels 6 and 7. The connector is approximately on the common axis of these wheels.

After the rig has been let down the hill to the approximate position where drilling is to take place, the outer end of cable 4 may be anchored to a fixed object to prevent the rig from slipping down the incline befiore it is accurately positioned and leveled.

As will appear from the subsequent description, the

serves as a longitudinally adjustable leg.

3,101,795 Patented Aug. 27, 1963 ice rig may be rotated from side to side generally around the pivot point 5, in which case one wheel would move slightly downhill while the opposite wheel is moving slightly uphill an equal distance. The device remains substantially in balance during such sidewise maneuvering, which is accomplished by supporting the rear end of the structure manually while adjustably moving it from side to side.

When the ring 9 has thus been maneuvered over the spot where drilling is to take place, the extension or supporting rod 10, having a pedestal 11, is adjusted longitudinally with respect to its sleeve 8 to bring the rig to a horizontal or level position, as shown in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the rod 10 has a series of holes 36 suitably spaced along its length, and that the sleeve 8 is provided with mating holes 12. A pin or bolt placed through one of the holes 12 and through a mating hole 36 in member 10 will retain member 81 in a fixed position with respect to rod 10 and thus support the free end of the rig at an appropriate level. The rod thus As shown in FIG. 2, two jacks 13 and 14 are connected to the main frame work 37 of my rig at positions adjacent the wheels 6 and 7 respectively. In my preferred form, these particular jacks are of the screw type, as indicated in FIG. 3, and the forward end of the rig may accordingly be lowered by placing a wrench over the upper ends 15 and 16 of the screw members of these jacks and rotating the screws until the pedestals 17 and 18, respectively, of jack 13 and 14 are in engagement with the ground, thus extending below'the wheels 6 and 7.

The inner periphery of ring 9 is of course sufliciently large to permit the drilling bucket 19, FIGS. 1 and 3, to

pass therethrough. Ring 9 is supported in the framework 37 for rotation by means of three rollers 40 carried in brackets 41 and received in a peripheral groove 42 in the ring. An inner ring, or wrench 20, having a square opening 22 at the center, is then slipped over the lower end of the Kelly bar 21. A platform 38: is attached to the top of the frame 37 for a workman to stand on while performing such operations. The Kelly bar is then connected to the top of the bucket 19, and the outer ends of the Wrench are then inserted into appropriate key'ways provided in the ring sothat rotation of the ring will rotate the Kelly bar.

I prefer to provide an extra bearing for the Kelly bar at the outer end of a disconnectable support 39' cantilevered from an intermediate location along the derrick 3 so that the Kelly bar will be supported, at least temporarily, at an additional position until the entire lower portion of the bucket has become embedded in the ground. Otherwise, the bucket tends to be deflected.

A motor 23 is supported in the framework of my rig very close to the axis of rotation of the wheels, and preferably so that it extends somewhat below this axis as indicated in FIG. 3. This motor, which may be of any appropriate type, such as electrical or gasoline, furnishes the motive power for the winch 30 and the ring 9. If the motor 23 is an internal combustion engine, I provide a clutch 24, controlled by a lever 25', for connecting it to a suitable transmission means extending to the gear shift mechanism 26. Operation of the gear shift by a gear shift lever 27 connects the motor either to the pulley or sprocket that drives the belt or chain 32, or to the gears 28 and 31. The flexible driving member 32 is appropriately attached and positioned for rotating the ring 9, and the gears are part of a gear train that drives the winch 30. Not only does the gear shift mechanism 26 make connection with the driving means for the winch or the ring, but it also provides the means for reversing the direction of rotation. Few details are shown for these various instrumentalities that transmit the power from the motor 23 to the winch or to the ring, as the specific means are entirely immaterial to my invention.

It is important to my invention, however, that the power plant 23 and the various motion transmitting devices be located as close as possible to a line extending between the centers of the two wheels, and that as much of the weight of this mechanism as possible be located below the axes of these wheels.

The winch 30 serves to raise or lower the Kelly bar 21. This is effected by a cable 33 attached at one end to the winch and at its other end to a swivel device 34 on the top end of the Kelly bar. The cable 33' of course passes over a pulley or sheave 35 at the top of the derrick 3.

It will be observed that the ring 9 is disposed between the driving mechanism and the sleeve 8 that receives the rod or leg 10 for supporting the outer end of the rig. This arrangement keeps the center of gravity as close as possible to the axes of the wheels and makes it easy during the initial setting-up procedure to pivot the mechanism around the swivel to which the cord 4 may be attached; and it also serves to support most of the load above the axes of the wheels when the derrick is disposed as shown in FIG. 4 for purposes of towing. In fact, one man can orient my derrick from the position in which it is used for drilling to the position required for towing.

It should be noted that the derrick 3 and the main framework 37 (which may be referred to as a base or base frame) are rigid or integral and that these two parts thus form a rigid frame structure which, when viewed from the side, is generally L-shaped, although the derrick and platform of the main framework are not square since the longitudinal axis of the derrick forms an acute angle with the platform and intersects the axis of rotation of ring 9.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made in the specific locations of the various components so long as they conform generally to the positions described as being important. It will also be understood that various substitutions may be made for the respective elements set forth in the appended claims, and that they may also be transposed, without departing from the broad spirit of my invention as therein set forth.

My claims are:

1. In a drilling rii a generally L-shaped rigid frame structure including a derrick forming the long leg of the L and a base forming the short leg thereof, a pair of wheels mounted on said frame structure in the region of intersection of the derrick and base, said wheels being mounted for rotation on a common axis extending transversely of the derrick and base in a direction normal to each, said frame structure being swingable as a unit about the axis of the wheels so position said derrick horizontally for movement in such position as by towing or pushing, a longitudinally adjustable leg mounted on the base at a point remote from said wheels and intermediate the planes containing the wheels, said leg extending from the base in a direction oppositely to that of the derrick, a boring tool, said base having an open area intermediate said leg and the rotational axis of the wheels adapted to pass the boring tool, tool-rotating means carried by said base for engaging and rotating the boring tool, a motor carried by said base, means operably connecting said motor and said rotatable means, a Windlass mounted on said base,

a sheave mounted on the outer end portion of said derrick, and a cable passing over said sheave attached at one end to said Windlass and adapted to be attached at its other end to the boring tool.

2. The drilling rig set forth in claim 1 in which said motor is positioned adjacent and below the axis of rotation of said wheels in the normal horizontal position of the base. I

3. The drilling rig set forth in claim 1 in which said derrick and said base are both above the axis of rotation of the wheels when said derrick is disposed horizontally for towing and in which the outer end of the derrick is provided with a tow hitch device.

4. The drilling rig set forth in claim 1 in which the longitudinal axis of the derrick intersects the axis of rotation of the tool-rotating means.

5. The drilling rig set forth in claim 1 in which said tool-rotating means comprises a ring mounted for rotation in said base and a wrench bar detachably carried by the ring.

'6. The drilling rig set forth in claim 1 in which means is carried by said frame for attaching a cable substantially on the axis of rotation of the wheels and midway between the wheels whereby to enable the lowering and raising of the rig on a hillside and the maneuvering of the same into desired position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 503,051 M acEachern Aug. 8, 1893 1,376,045 Skott et a1. Apr. 26, l92l 1,966,008 Forney July 10, 1934 1,987,982 Wheeler Jan. 15, 1935 2,215,928 Hornbrook Sept. 24, 1940 2,774,568 Jones Dec. 18, 1956 2,792,198 Braun May 14, 1957 2,894,723 Gustafson July 14, 1959 

1. IN A DRILLING RIG, A GENERALLY L-SHAPED RIGID FRAME STRUCTURE INCLUDING A DERRICK FORMING THE LONG LEG OF THE L AND A BASE FORMING THE SHORT LEG THEREOF, A PAIR OF WHEELS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE IN THE REGION OF INTERSECTION OF THE DERRICK AND BASE, SAID WHEELS BEING MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON A COMMON AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE DERRICK AND BASE IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO EACH SAID FRAME STRUCTURE BEING SWINGABLE AS A UNIT ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE WHEELS SO POSITION SAID DERRICK HORIZONTALLY FOR MOVEMENT IN SUCH POSITION AS BY TOWING OR PUSHING, A LONGITUDINALLY ADJUSTABLE LEG MOUNTED ON THE BASE AT A POINT REMOTE FROM SAID WHEELS AND INTERMEDIATE THE PLANES CONTAINING THE WHEELS, SAID LEG EXTENDING FROM THE BASE IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITELY TO THAT OF THE DERRICK, A BORING TOOL, SAID BASE HAVING AN OPEN AREA INTERMEDIATE SAID LEG AND THE ROTATIONAL AXIS OF THE WHEELS ADAPTED TO PASS THE BORING TOOL, TOOL-ROTATING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BASE FOR ENGAGING AND ROTATING THE BORING TOOL, A MOTOR CARRIED BY SAID BASE, MEANS OPERABLY CONNECTING SAID MOTOR AND SAID ROTATABLE MEANS, A WINDLASS MOUNTED ON SAID BASE, A SHEAVE MOUNTED ON THE OUTER END PORTION OF SAID DERRICK, AND A CABLE PASSING OVER SAID SHEAVE ATTACHED AT 